News Finder

Hope to Present Annual Madrigal Dinner on Dec. 7 and 8

The department of music and Collegium Musicum at Hope College will present the college’s annual Christmas Madrigal Dinner on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7-8, in the Maas Center auditorium.

Wassail and seating will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 7pm. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m.

The program is led by Hope College faculty member Jim DeBoer and the Collegium Musicum student vocal ensemble.

As in the time of Shakespeare, guests gather at the royal court for an evening of singing, dancing, feasting and general merry-making. The feast will feature fine food, a wassail toast, figgy pudding and a boar’s head procession.

The auditorium will be decorated in the manner of a castle’s grand feasting hall, complete with tapestries and suits of armor to help lend atmosphere. The wait staff will be garbed in period attire.

“Come and enjoy the laughter, great vocal and instrumental music, and fine cuisine as you will receive a full-course meal,” said DeBoer, an adjunct associate professor of music. “Be transported back into medieval days with a king, queen and their court.”

Tickets are $25 for regular admission and $15 for children under 12 and Hope students, and are available at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and may be called at (616) 395-7890, although because of the Thanksgiving holiday the office will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 22, and on Friday, Nov. 23, will be open only from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are also available online at tickets.hope.edu/ticketing/

The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 22 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.